Eastern Promises (2007)

In this expose of London's Russian mob world, David Cronenberg continues his obsession with flesh. The corpus delecti: corpse missives, revealing tattoos, and a pink-cheeked orphan. When midwife Anna (Naomi Watts), of a more acclimated Russian blood, seeks a translation for the diary of a dead underage Russian prostitute, she unwittingly sets broken allegiances and disparate motives into play, including those of aspiring mob-star Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen).

Beguiling Nikolai is the key player, and unlike Mortensen's last disappointing appearance in a Cronenberg vehicle, this character's motives are tantalizingly clouded by a murky undertone. Yet, in what some are calling one of the most significant fight scenes in cinematic history, it's clear that Mortensen keeps nothing up his sleeves but a compelling show of strength while at his most vulnerable. This is Cronenberg's special brand of ambiguity where characters, both noble and selfish, are at constant cross-purposes.